The Minister of Environment and Climate Change visits “The Curious Desert” exhibition
Minister of environment and climate change HE sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani paid a visit on Sunday to “The Curious Desert” exhibition by the artist Olafur Eliasson. The exhibition brings together a dozen new site-specific installations located in the desert, near the Al Thakhira Mangrove in Northern Qatar.
He expressed his admiration for the idea of the exhibition and the message it conveys raising awareness about the environment, through linking visual arts and visual works, and showing the beauty of nature in Qatar’s environment. Emphasizing the close relationship between arts and raising the general taste of humans in this aspect and raising awareness of the natural characteristics of his country that are not available in other parts of the country and must be preserved and developed.
This extensive exhibition explores the Icelandic-Danish artist’s experimentation with lights and color, geometric studies, ecological awareness, and more-than-human relationships. The exhibition brings together a dozen new-sit specific installations located in the desert, near the Al Thakira Mangrove. And an extensive gallery presentation at the national museum of Qatar of artworks created over the artist’s career.
The outdoor installation consists of twelve temporary pavilions that Eliasson considers to form an artistic laboratory in the desert. Many of the experiments inside the pavilions utilize natural phenomena, such as wind, water, and sunlight, to create artworks that emerge over the course of the day od, as the seasons change, over the duration of the exhibition.
At the national museum of Qatar, the indoor gallery exhibition features a variety of artworks from different periods of Eliasson’s career and in a wide range of media, including expensive light installations, complex geometric models, photo series from Iceland, watercolors, and optical devices.
